Sunday, June 15, 2008

Kuwait Speaker Attacks U.S. Over Charity Freeze

June 15, 2008 - A U.S. decision to freeze the assets of a Kuwaiti charity could harm its relations with its key Gulf Arab ally, Kuwait's parliament speaker said on Sunday.

The U.S. Treasury Department said on Friday it has decided to freeze the assets of the Revival of Islamic Heritage Society, accusing it of financing terrorist activities.

Jassem al-Kharafi, a pro-government politician and former minister, criticised the decision and said such charities were under state scrutiny.

"We wish that the United States respects the sovereignty of Kuwait and it should not take actions that would harm this (U.S.-Kuwaiti) relationship," Kharafi told reporters.

"Who has a house of glass should not throw stones against others," he said, adding that the United States should first solve the problem of its prison at the Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba.

The Guantanamo prison, where suspected militants are held, opened in January 2002 after the U.S. administration launched its "war on terrorism" in response to al Qaeda's Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on U.S. cities.

Kuwait, which was the launch pad for the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, is home to thousands of U.S. soldiers.

"If this is the way the United States deals with a sovereign state then what is the meaning of the excellent relationship we have with the United States," Kharafi said.

Kuwaiti officials rarely criticise the United States in public. (Reuters)